A New Face

Rosie

yes, it does help enough. Thank you for clearing up the issue and thank you also for taking time to write this for me. Wish you more success .,

But Kouroush was destructive to the website discourse anyway

because every time he wrote something people would not ignore him, they would reply. So I wanted them and him to focus on the other side of him. And it seems to have helped a lot. He hasn't even participated in the two very prominently placed anti-Islam blogs. Instead he wrote his own blog, a beautiful poem called "Ode to Nadia."  Unfortunately it didn't get featured precisely because I'd asked jj to stop featuring his blogs...but it is gorgeous and full of love.

So I don't think I did the wrong thing. I think I did help Kouroush to focus on more positive things. His discourse was just too destructive, people couldn't ignore him or they wouldn't. Now his posts are positive and there is nothing for them to lash back at him for. I hope it lasts.

I also had to post the blog I did about him to explain myself because every time I would write a reply to him, always telling him to be more creative, people would come and warn me about him, sometimes in droves. The full title I submitted was Why I Continue to Engage KS in Dialogue Despite Your Admonitions but jj took out the second half. That was probably a mistake because people like you didn't realize I was doing it as a specific RESPONSE to a general website trend.

I hope that clears up a couple of things.

Dear Rosie, Yes, I like

Dear Rosie,

Yes, I like your writing,  but it doesn't mean I do agree with you all the time.

If I was writing an article, it wouldn't be about "Islam" for sure.

Firstly because, I am not a "religion type" and secondly because I do not know Islam as well as I should. I am born Muslim, my husband is Catholic and my kids have no religion because I told them they have to do their own researches and learn about what they want to believe in.

My point is, here we are not for therapy. I don't like what that person write, because he is insulting people who do believe in something. He insults their fundamental belief and also invites people to leave what they have always believed in to take another road. Yet, this person is not qualified for such speech as he is mentally ill (we read his comments many times about other subjects) and as you said he is full of hate. Hate of religion, hate of the world, hate of the people and hate of himself for sure. He brought here lots of conversation full of hate and insult. He destroyed what was built here for years. Something constrictive and interesting.

Now, you would say, he wasn't the only one, there were others too, I do agree with you. But this person likes "attention" so much that he is able to say anything, from "killing his mother" in a poem on to humiliating a nice mother from her picture....

What I said to JJ is, WE DON'T NEED THIS. This is not what is called "Freedom of speech"...now if he doesn't want to hear me, let it be.

As for your blog, my point is, it wasn't necessary. Your blog (posted to protect or justify a person like this) would be the continuation of "his action"...so you will go in the same basket as him, wanted or not .

People like to believe in what they want to believe. Nobody has a right to insult them for  their belief, not an ill mental pathetic person who just copy and paste and post them to attract people's attention . The fact that he is sick or have mental problem or this or that reason does not justify for his action and his paroles which are disturbing for all readers.

He is wasting lots of time and energy of all readers including you and me who are arguing about his stupidity since a while.

As for my blog, it is not a blog really, it is just a suggestion to JJ, to think about a way to provide the freedom for all the readers.

He speaks about freedom of speech, yes, ok. But all kind of freedom first start by "respecting other people's belief" ...

If someone come here and give "shit" to everybody just to expose himself in a way to attract more attention, this is not called "Freedom".

AN111: "....who are taking

AN111: "....who are taking on Islam and muslims to task because it represents a threat to humanity." Written by Goebbels of the non-German and non-Christian kind. Muslims are a threat to humanity? You and people like you (doesn't matter if you're Muslim, or Jewish, or Christian, or from any of the the other beliefs, or political ideologies) are a "threat to humanity". If you were a muslim you would be of the fanatical kind. But as it turns out, you are a fanatic of some other kind. Yes, unfortunately people like you exist in every political ideology, and also among followers of all religions and beliefs, mr. propoganda of spreading hate, fear and lies. Goebbels in his grave, is proud of an ignorant fanatic like you.

Souri, I have ALWAYS argued tirelessly with Kouroush...

against his Islam-bashing. Hours and hours I've spent. Over and over again. You can find several posts of mine on this topic at the beginning of his first Islam blog, also all over the website. I have always been one of the staunchest defenders of Islam on this website.

I tried for weeks to get Kouroush to channel his destructive energy into creative writing, especially poetry and finally he is doing it. He's stopped cursing on his own blog when he critiques Islam, he is civilized. And he doesn't even PARTICIPATE in the new anti-Islam blogs anymore.

I told JJ to STOP featuring Kouroush's anti-Islam blogs because of the hate they generated, and he did.

I wrote the blog with Kouroush's poetic piece in it so people could see the OTHER side of him and hopefully if they give him attention for it, which he obviously craves, he will no longer spread his hate-mongering.

You say you read me regularly and anyone who reads me regularly has to know that I defend and defend Islam over and over again.

So what is all this about? Suddenly I'm on the Islam-bashing team? The piece I quoted from Kouroush even says "I am a Muslim."

Souri, your arguments in favor of changing the website so there is more control over the threads are valid. Most importantly, everybody needs to be registered because there are just too many crazies among the chickens. It simply isn't working, and it's driving away the best writers. Compulsory registration would take care of a lot of the problems on the thread and then maybe it wouldn't be necessary for Fouad to have to do technical overhauls so authors could control their threads better. Whatever the case may be, your central point that something needs to be done is correct.

So why are you undermining your argument by irrationally accusing me of being anti-Islam? I called him KILLER SHARK AND KAPOSI'S SARCOMA. What do you think that means?

I am getting a little tired of people insisting on seeing things in black and white and only seeing what they want to, and CHANGING what they see to fit the whim of the moment. First you're so familiar with my writing and next thing I'm an Islam basher?

A large part of the reason I posted that was for YOU, after this blog, so YOU could see the other side of him and hopefully focus on that to help him out of his hate.

So now I' m on a jihad against Islam?

Honestly, I'm getting tired of these kinds of accusations.

Finally you need to communicate your concerns directly to jj via the contact on the homepage. His chances of going back and reading this blog are very minimal. He doesn't like to go back ever and especially once he's responded he feels he's done his job. Trust me. I'm not guessing. I know him.

If you write to him directly he may or may not respond, he often doesn't, but at least he will see it.

And when/if you do, please don't include me among the Islam-bashers. It will just discredit your argument that changes are needed in the website format because he knows I'm not an Islam-basher. It discredits you to make false accusations.

Anyway why don't you write an article that is PRO-Islam? I am writing one. I do it all the time in my posts but so far I seem to be the only one bothering to write an article about it.

God, this is tiring me out.  It's so...pointless.... 

To Kamal-09

I know, I already read it. That's one  of those blogs I just talked about.

Why not having one forum and one real site where people post only their opinion with no feed back ?

Souri - Our "Zoo" du jour

Check it out:

http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/rosie-t/why-i-con...

JJ please do something

When I read those articles published since last week, first from KS, then another one by Amil ?, another one by Rosie, and other articles, it really like a site of propaganda against Islam and not really a place for freedom of speech.

Please, just take off this "right" to comment and criticize each other from us and give us back our dear and cherished website.

thanks.

Souri Jan

In one sentence, the leaving of Comments is nothing but the "Wild, Wild, West"

There is no question that something "Needs" To Be Done

But as to Exactly How To Balance Things, Well Nobody Knows

I Know One Thing:

People Who Want To Publish "Serious" Blogs Are Generally Reluctant Because Of This Anything Goes Approach

I Mean, Really, who Wants To Put Themselves Through This Meat Grinder When You Can Have A Bunch Of "Nuts" Take Over The Blog

Thanks Souri!

One needs to see how many unsent articles I have in my draft-section, because I very often don't like what I write and they stay unsent ;)

Thank to you too Ben

for sharing this idea with us. I'm happy to see I am not the only one who suffer from the present form of the Iranian.com. Hope Jahanshah would listen to us.

I have to mention that I like your articles too, I forgot to mention your name among others, but truely, I like what you write here. 

Good luck.

Me too :P

JJ, I am too lazy to create a blog for myself. I first tried it some 5 years ago and didn't go from there. I have tried a couple of times ever since. But I would gladly have a blog here on Iranian.com because this is also a place I write my articles on. But to have a blog it needs to be a personal page, where you put ONLY the things you want to. I suggested this to you long ago, but then I thought that programming must be a big deal and didn't insist any more especially that I saw that you started to do a good work on keeping irrelevant and dirty stuff out. But, nevertheless, creating TRUE blogs will helpt the website :)

What I mean to say about jj is just that..

it's hard to handle the site alone, especially now with the blogging. I have utmost regard for you too, Souri-sushi.  It would be nice to see you write more. And by the way, I'm a triple Leo with a major stellium in the ninth house and Sag rising, half my planets in Virgo/Cap, two in Scorpio, and ABSOLUTELY NO AIR....and that's IT....so you see, I'm not playing...with a full deck. And I have to...compensate...in tirelessly creative ways...for everything that's missing...so you have to be...patient...with my ways... ;D

I have lots of respect for you Rosie

You are a very smart and well educated girl and I almost always read your writing . I appreciate and respect your views. Thank you for considering my suggestion to be noticed

About JJ's personal life's projection at the site, I'm not sure that would be of a big influence. Nowadays, those things happens almost every day and people learnt to live with that. I like JJ in all his behaviour, even once I yelled at him for allowing to blog a porn site, but I like this diversity of his mind, as like  your's ! This means, living  the life totally !!!  

Well then we'll have to agree to disagree about KS...

and I was just looking at some old issues of iranian.com which I've been reading since '04 and I think recently the quality has gone down. I attribute it to two factors: the tumultuous changes in jj's life and also the blogging. The blogging scared away FROM THE BEGINNING some of the best writers and they haven't returned. And now that posting articles is so integrally related to being a member and blogging itself, people are writing articles which they normally wouldn't and jj is posting them to fill the gap...at least that's my impression as of last night. But mind you the sewer pit associated iwth blogging started months ago when KS...wasn't even...around.....

I think everyone should be mandatorily registered. And I think the moderators should be publicly announced. And I think...many things...but I DON'T think any one person should be CATEGORICALLY and COMPLETELY silenced just because they reveal the ugliness in humankind at times...

but I'm a funny person.  I'm a Jew for example who does not think Holocaust Denial should be a crime...I have...strange views on things....and I just convinced someone on my own blog to be against capital punishment, he was FOR it but against Sharia laws...and he thanked me...and....I think...my instincts...are often good....although I may work sometimes in what appear to be circumlocuitous ways...there's a method...to my madness....if you want to call it madness...

PS I said he was my "cousin" sarcastically in response to a vitriolic anti-Semitic, anti-Zoroastrian comment made TO him.  Not BY him. TO him. The person said only someone raised by Jews could be so rotten.  I said my grandmother raised him.

To Rosie

When I first connected to this site in 2003, it was wonderful to learn about other people's view and share their opinions. I miss Bani-Ameri, Mirfendereski, Bahmani and even Sarvenaz writing.

Each of them  had their special way of thinking and talking, which was amusing and amazing. Also we could read about politics and religion without getting our feeling hurt or causing that much damage to the other's feeling.

Now, your cousin here, brought all the hate and personal complex that no one need nor appreciate in this forum.

You must pay attention to the fact that here is a forum (if not a website) that is not a psychiatric clinic and we are not therapist dear.

As they say in French "á la guerre comme á la guerre"...means "while at war, wear the war's cloths".

When people get offended at that point any time and all time they say a word, it is natural that they give back the insult they got to the person who send them.

He even once, drive me so crazy, at Ladan's picture, that I totally lost my patience. He is totally confused and sick. We can't tolerate his way any more here, dear Rosie. Don't blame other people for giving him what he really deserved. Sorry, but I don't agree with you Rosie jan.

And, by the way, he is not gone at all, he still writes hereand there as "felfeli" or "sheytoon" or even maybe Maleknaseri MD, and etc...etc.

Souri, JJ, I always said from the beginning of the discussion

that writers should choose whether to have a moderated or unmoderated thread, for example, so I've always favored choice. It's a good discussion.

But I don't think it's fair Souri to blame the "deterioration" of the website discourse recently on one person. Nobody held a gun to anyone's head and made them answer him. As you probably know, as most people know, I've tried to engage him constructively for weeks and monitored his blogs and posts VERY closely, at considerable cost in time and effort to myself.

Many things happened.  There was a collective effort first to debate him and bring him to reason, then to try to get him to get professional help.  They were communal efforts. They were inspiring. When those two waves of respondants thought they'd failed--and many were DEVOUT Muslims, by the way, they gave up and on his second blog was an infestation of the dregs of the barrel. I can only describe it as KKK meets Farrakhan rally. The Islamo-, Judeo- and even ZORO-bashing was UNrEAL. I've never seen anything like it.  But the most offensive comments didn't come from HIM, they came from others.  MANY others.  They don't even exist anymore, they had to be removed. And yet what remains can give a clue as to how bad it was. It was VERY distrubing...but it came from a COLLECTIVE voice...hence it represented a truth...one that needed...like all truths to be scrutinized in the light of day.

I asked j to stop FEATURING these blogs until they calmed down simply because we can't afford to present such an image of Iran to the world on a website with half a million hits from independent computers PER MONTH. But that's a PR decision, it doesn't undercut the need for Truth to be faced.

Finally I worked tirelessly to get the man to dedicate himself to poetry and he's actually doing it....and maybe that's the therapy he needs...we're talking about a distrubed person, but a disturbed person who struck a collective nerve.  Half the respondents wanted to HELP him and that was GOOD for them and for him...and the other half EXCEEDED him in his hate...and that was BAD...but it was true....

and jj says nothing is sacred and I say everything is sacred. Even HATE, because in its conquering there is "god".

And the truth shall set us free.....

Please don't demonize.  We all share common demons. Half animal, half angel.  That is us. I'm sure jj would agree. And as KS himself continually tried to say....he's only...us.....Killer Shark, KiaroStami.....

To:

To: Seriously

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2243...

Freedom & Free Speech

Hi Souri, thank you for your thoughts and suggestion.

I think maybe, perhaps, it is a good idea to allow bloggers to do whatever they want on their own pages. They should be able to delete, revise, re-write their BLOG posts (not their articles). And why not... they should keep out anyone who offends them. It's their personal space and they should have the power to delete anyone's comments or block all comments.

In theory, I agree with you. But I don't know if this particular publishing tool we use (Drupal) allows us to make these changes without any major re-programming. I will ask our tech master Foaad.

But even if this were possible and we implemented it after further review, what will be achieved? What good is total silence? Every day I delete vulgar or mean comments here and there. There are also a dozen other volunteer editors who try to keep this place as "civilized" as possible, without making things too dull. And registered members can flag offensive comments too. Some already call this censorship. A lot more would agree if we put further limits on speech.

Which one is more important: individual freedom or freedom of speech? Something to think about :o)

to: Seriously I hate to

to: Seriously

I hate to break it to you but there are 5 billion non-muslim who are taking on Islam and muslims to task because it represents a threat to humanity. Deal with it. After all, Islam is just another ideology and ideologies need to be criticized and questioned if they're inhumane, morally degenerate and present a gathering threat to the Western/Secular world...the world is shrinking and Islam is trying to spread its militant version across the globe. If you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen.

Souri,

Do you mean to give space to registered spammer to write whatever gibberish they like without any rejection.

Please go though blogs section for past few days, and see how some immature registered individuals are taking this forum to bash a core cultural belief of a country.